Politics & Government

State Amends Child Transportation Policies After Toddler's Death

The State Dept. of Early Education and Care approved the recommended changes in a meeting held in Westwood this week.

Meeting in Westwood on Tuesday, approved a number of recommendations to improve the transportation of young children throughout the state.

The move comes after the department's investigation of the death of 17-month-old son Gabriel Josh-Cazier Pierre, a toddler who died last month after he was left in a van outside a day care center in Dorchester for several hours.

Virginia Cazir, the child's mother, spoke at the meeting on Tuesday at , emphasizing her support for the recommendations, which aim to ensure that no young child or special needs student would be forgotten and left alone in a vehicle transporting them to and from school. Cazir was present with her attorney, Ernst Guerrier. 

Find out what's happening in Westwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"She's a very nice, thoughtful lady," said Abby Hanscom, Westwood's Director of Student Services ,who was present at Tuesday's meeting along with other Westwood school officials. "She had an amount of grace that I think is remarkable in this situation." 

While several provisions were passed, not all are effective immediately, as they require additional regulation changes and/or contractual changes. The EEC's website describes the recommended changes in full

Find out what's happening in Westwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One such change that is effective immediately mandates that drivers of transportation vehicles in early education settings must carry and complete a passenger log for each route and identify the names of all children being transported. Drivers will also have to complete an inspection of each seat in the vehicle, then pass the log to an additional reviewer if required, who would then physically inspect the vehicle in the same way.

"The things that would take longer would include the implementation of vehicle monitoring devices," explained Hanscom.  

Such monitoring devices would be installed on vehicles designed to transport children aged 6 and older. The devices would not be required for vehicles that carry an assigned monitor unless children are developmentally or physically disabled, or on vehicles that are used for occasional field trips.

The improvements to transportation policies would directly affect communities throughout the state, including Westwood, which currently doesn't use such vans to transport students in early education.

"It might have an impact in what types of vans we might be able to use (in the future)," Hanscom said.


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